Chương 46: Chapter 41: Finally, A Level in Merchant

In the morning, I gave Stretch breakfast and water.

"I'm going to check out the baths the innkeeper mentioned." He perked up, tail wagging.

"Not you," I added, crouching to ruffle his fur.

"You've got breakfast, and you're staying here in the room, okay? Pretty sure they won't let a dog inside." His ears drooped, the wag slowed, and stopped. With a long, put-upon sigh, he lowered his head onto his paws.

"Don't give me that look," I said, grinning at his sulk.

"I won't be long." He gave a soft grumble in reply, the canine version of fine, and turned his head away to show his displeasure. The common room was quiet in the morning, with only a handful of guests eating breakfast. The innkeeper from last night stood behind the bar, arranging bottles, and no server was in sight. He glanced up as I came in, gave me a nod, and pointed toward an empty table.

"Breakfast is eggs with vegetables and bread, or chama porridge," he said. I lived dangerously and tried something new.

"Porridge, please."

"You're a polite fellow; I appreciate that," the innkeeper said.

"Sit down, and I'll bring it to you." After a few minutes, he brought me a bowl of porridge that resembled cooked barley, topped with fruits and honey. The taste reminded me of semolina porridge, but the grain flavor was more pronounced and took some getting used to. At least the fruit was delicious, and honey is always a wonderful addition. After eating, I approached him again and asked, "You mentioned the baths last night. Can you give me directions?" He gave me a startled look.

"Go right, then turn left at the first street. You'll see it. It's a big building with a sign; you can't miss it." His reaction puzzled me. Was it something about the way I asked, or the time of day? Better not to dwell on it. As a Traveler, I'd have to get used to such reactions. As he said, the baths were easy to find. They were in an extensive stone building with a big sign proclaiming them the "Rusha Baths." Was Rusha the name of the kingdom or the city? I shook my head; it didn't matter.

The Map was great, but many names were missing. After learning the locations, I added the names Mara and Somer to the Map, though most places still showed only unlabeled town or city icons. The odd part was that the wilderness section of the Map was more detailed than the towns or cities. Were all Travelers semi-antisocial like me? Inside, a sign informed me that a bath cost three coppers, with more signs directing men to the right and women to the left.

The right door opened into a changing room, where an attendant was waiting. I watched the other man in the room to see what to do. He handed his clothes to the attendant and received a string with a number, which he tied around his wrist. I stored my clothes instead. The door from the changing room led into a room with a large pot of boiling water over a fire pit, where another attendant ladled hot water into buckets and distributed them.

The man I followed poured a bucket of water over himself, grabbed a piece of soap from a shelf, and scrubbed thoroughly, even his hair, then rinsed off with another bucket. Simple enough. I copied his routine but disliked the coarse soap and its smell, so I used my own soap and shampoo. After I rinsed off, the attendant, who had been watching me curiously, asked, "Hello, esteemed Merchant. Do you sell the soap you used, or is it only for personal use?"

"I have some to sell."

"My father might like to purchase some for the nobles. Could you meet with him after your bath?"

"I'll be happy to." It was good that I had bought a large stock. I left through the door the other person used and entered a large room with three soaking pools. Judging by the steam, there was a temperature difference. The first was lukewarm, almost cold; the second was just right, and the last was too hot for me. I settled into the medium-heat pool, leaned my head back, and relaxed. I soaked for at least an hour, enjoying the warmth. A mage occasionally checked and heated the water.

He cast a spell on it, and I felt the flow of mana. It surprised me; when the other mage did something with the meat I sold her, I felt nothing, but now the mana was impossible to ignore. My Wizard Class? Until now, I hadn't noticed that my sensitivity to mana had increased, but now it was obvious. Their towels were thick sheets of coarse, scratchy linen, a far cry from the fluffy ones I was used to. With a disgusted huff, I pulled out my own soft, fluffy towel.

The mage approached me, wiping damp hands on his robe, and gave me a polite nod.

"Hello, esteemed Merchant. My son tells me you have soap that smells better than anything we have here. Do you sell it?"

"Yes," I said, toweling the last bit of water from my hair.

"I've also got better towels and a special soap for hair that keeps it soft." He glanced between me and the door leading to the soaking pools a couple of times.

"I would very much like to see those things. The problem is, I must keep watch over the baths. Would you prefer to show me here, or wait until the afternoon when my replacement arrives?"

"I don't mind showing you here," I said, waving at myself.

"But let me get dressed first." After dressing, I set up my operating table and laid out the goods: a stack of towels in various sizes, a sealed box of 50 soap bars, another sealed box of 24 bottles of body wash, and a third sealed box of 24 bottles of shampoo. Holding up an open bar of soap along with a bottle of body wash and shampoo, I said, "This box has fifty pieces like this one. You can smell it and wash your hands to see the quality." I pointed to the next box.

"This is a liquid soap that feels better on the skin. There are twenty-four bottles in here." Finally, I tapped the shampoo box.

"This one holds twenty-four bottles of soap made especially for hair. It keeps it soft and shiny." He took the shampoo bottle, turned it over in his hands, and examined the writing.

"What language is this, and what is this bottle made of? I never saw anything like it."

"I come from the islands in the far south. This is our local dialect. The bottles are made from a substance produced there, but I have no idea how. My family buys the bottles after they are made. We have a mage in the family who casts the pictures and writing on the bottles." He uncorked the soap and the shampoo, brought them to his nose, inhaled deeply, then nodded. He ran a hand across the towels, rubbing the fabric between his fingers, then looked back at me.

"How much does each of those things cost, and how much do you have?" This time, I charged the actual price instead of discounting the Appraisal price. I checked Storage, counted everything, and set aside the opened boxes for personal use.

"The box with the fifty pieces of soap costs three gold and two silver. The boxes of liquid soap for body and hair cost three gold each for twenty-four bottles. The big towels cost three silver each, the medium towels two silver each, and the small ones one silver each. I have twenty-four boxes of the soap pieces, twenty-nine boxes of the body liquid soap, and forty-nine boxes of the hair liquid soap. I have 75 large towels, 95 medium towels, and 64 small towels. All the towels come in various colors.

While sizes vary slightly, they're still big, medium, and small." He tapped a finger on the sack of towels, eyes narrowing in thought.

"Are you planning to return to Rusha in the future?"

"No," I said, shaking my head.

"After I visit a few more places, I'll be returning home to stay." He kept tapping the towels, looking at the goods.

"How much are you asking for everything you have, with a promise that you don't have more and won't be selling to other bathhouses in Rusha?" I took out a pen and paper, spread them on the table, and scribbled down figures while he leaned forward, watching in silence. After calculating everything, I looked up.

"The total price is five hundred forty-one gold and five silver. Since you are buying in bulk, I'll sell it to you for five hundred gold, and I promise that if you buy the entire stock, I won't have more to sell to other bathhouses." He hummed under his breath, tilted his head this way and that, and finally nodded to himself.

"I'll take all of it, but I don't have such a sizeable sum of money here. Can you return in the afternoon?"

"Yes, no problem."

"Thank you," he said, inclining his head.

"When you arrive in the afternoon, ask for me. My name is Rab." Oops! Again, I forgot to introduce myself. I needed to work on that. We shook hands.

"My name is John. It's nice to meet you. I'll see you in the afternoon." I left and headed back to the inn to collect Stretch. After collecting him, I went to sell some things to clear out my Storage and look for new items to buy. A shop with pots displayed outside on a table caught my eye, and I looked inside. The shopkeeper was busy with a customer. When he finished, I stepped forward and offered my hand.

"Hello, my name is John. Nice to meet you." This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. He looked surprised for a moment, but shook my hand.

"Mesin. How can I help you?"

"I'm a Merchant with unique wares. Would you be interested in seeing them?" Mesin narrowed his eyes, crossed his arms, and leaned on the counter.

"Maybe. Depends on what you have." I showed him an extensive assortment of pots, pans, and bowls. He bought most of what I offered and didn't say "too fancy" even once. I liked him just for that. Afterward, I continued exploring the city and buying various foods from vendors. Some were so good I bought extra to store, while others were inedible, even by Stretch's standards. I sold to multiple shops and made money hand over fist before returning in the afternoon to conclude the soap deal.

Selling in the city was a lot of fun. Most of my sales on the road had been small, usually paid in copper and silver. Here, I made significant sales and got paid in gold. It was far more lucrative, and I enjoyed being a Merchant. It wasn't only the money I earned, though I appreciated that too, but the process itself, from offering goods to negotiation and the final exchange. In the evening after dinner, I approached the innkeeper with an extended hand for a handshake.

"My name is John. Nice to meet you. What's your name?" Yay me! Maybe one day, I'd get over my introverted ways. Again, he gave me a strange look.

"Loman. How can I help you, lad?"

"Can you tell me where the commercial streets in the city are and where the streets are only residential?" He gave me another strange look. I was getting really tired of those.

"There are shops on every street, but some areas are specific. You can find the leather workers on the east side of the city. If you cross the bridge near the leather workers and walk east of the city, you will find the tanners. The food market is on this side of the river, straight ahead on the main road, instead of turning left for the inn. The blacksmiths' area is also on the other side of the river in the west. Two fish markets are near the main docks on both sides of the river."

I thanked him and headed up to my room. Before going to sleep, I opened the Map and marked all the streets I'd visited. There was still a big part of the city to see. For the next three weeks, I visited every shop I came across to offer my wares and slowly filled the Map. In the evenings, I restored weapons for 1, 000 mana and regenerated for a few hours. It snowed intermittently during this time. The snow was never heavy, and it didn't stay on the ground for long.

Stretch still didn't like it and preferred to spend his days in the common room of the inn in front of the fire, where the innkeeper and servers spoiled him rotten with pets and treats. He was living the life and loving every minute. Every evening, I asked him how his day went, and in return, I got a flood of happy emotions accompanied by the taste of food and the pleasure of pets and scratches. Spoiled dog.

I left the blacksmiths and leather workers for last, but was getting close to visiting all the streets in the city. Inns turned out to be excellent customers, too, including the one where I stayed. Some shops sold jewelry and potions, which I marked on my Map, planning to return later. Arriving in the blacksmiths' quarter, I stepped into the first shop I saw. The place was hot and smelled of smoke; tools and weapons in various stages of completion lined the walls.

A broad-shouldered man stood at the anvil, sweat gleaming on his arms and face as he hammered a glowing piece of metal. A younger boy worked the bellows, his face red from the heat, while another, a bit older, arranged polished blades and fittings on a display wall. The one handling the display wiped his hands on his apron, walked over with a polite smile, and said, "Good day to you, good sir. How can we serve you?"

"Do you have old or damaged weapons for sale?" I asked. He looked at me with complete bewilderment.

"Old and damaged?"

"Yes."

"Why?" he asked, looking even more confused.

"I'm a traveling Merchant, and I visit many small towns," I said, spreading my hands.

"Some people can't afford more than a few coppers for a weapon, but they still need to take care of jurbers or other nasties occasionally. I have a lot of excellent weapons for sale. I'm looking for something for poor people." Now, he looked at me like I was less of a lunatic. Success.

"Wait a few moments, please." He went and whispered with the guy banging on the anvil. After a minute, both of them went to the back and returned carrying weapons. They did this three more times, piling a mound of damaged weapons in the middle of the shop. The big guy approached me.

"I can't promise very low prices since I can melt those down and reuse the metal, but see what interests you, and we'll talk."

"Thank you." I gave him a nod and turned to look through the pile. After appraising all the weapons, I came back to him, brushing the soot from my hands.

"I'd like to take everything you showed me. I can pay in coins or barter damaged weapons for good ones." He shook his head.

"I sell only for coin. I don't buy new weapons, only old ones to melt and reuse."

"No problem. How much for all of them?" He checked the weapons one by one, muttering numbers under his breath as he jotted them on a coarse sheet of paper. The light brownish-gray sheet looked rough, and I realized it was the first paper I had seen in this world. Other merchants had always done their calculations mentally. After nearly ten minutes, he straightened.

"Seven gold and four silver." That was higher than my Appraisal. My calculation had come to six gold, eight silver, and four coppers. I crossed my arms.

"That's too much for their condition. Remember, I'm a traveling Merchant. I have the Appraisal blessing." His brow furrowed, and he tilted his head.

"How much are you willing to pay?"

"Six gold and seven silver." He studied me for a long moment, then extended his big hand.

"We have a bargain." I shook his hand and paid him 670 copper coins, most local and some of mine from Earth. He liked those, like everybody else. I stored the weapons and bade them a good day. In that way, I toured the entire blacksmiths' area and purchased weapons. Some wanted to barter for good weapons, while others wanted coins only. One blacksmith wanted way too much, two others wanted more than the weapons were worth, and none of them were willing to negotiate.

That made me realize skills were not all-powerful, and that there was a free-will aspect to everything. Otherwise, my bargaining skills would have made them capitulate. After my experience in the emerald cave, I also bought tools like picks, saws, hammers, an extensive assortment of nails, and other odds and ends. It took me three days to visit all the blacksmiths. The next day was nice and sunny without snow, so I took a day off and relaxed; buying and selling was hard work.

I spent the day visiting food stalls with Stretch, and we tried a variety of foods. Since his awakening, he'd become less picky and enjoyed new things—as long as they didn't involve vegetables, or at least not too many. He could live with a little and seemed to get a different kind of enjoyment from sending me grumbly feelings about them. He still occasionally wanted beer, but not too much, perhaps once every four or five days. I diagnosed him after each beer but couldn't see any difference.

After our day off, I visited the leatherworkers. The leather area covered over ten streets and was very diverse. Some shops sold leather armor in various designs; others offered riding clothes, while a few specialized in outfits for different professions. Some shops sold leather sheets for furniture, carts, and carriages. There were even bowyers selling bows and arrows. Since the only leather involved was bowstrings, I had no idea why they were in the leather district.

I purchased three sets of leather armor, varying in protection and hardness, as well as a large quantity of old and damaged leather goods, and over twenty damaged bows. I also cleared out every arrow the bowyers had in stock and told them I'd return in a few days to buy more. Two looked pleased at that, but the third seemed intimidated. I had no idea why. I located the alchemists I had marked on the Map and visited them one by one. The experience was both interesting and educational, teaching me a great deal.

Every shop sold mana potions that restored thirty mana and cost two gold. No wonder the caravan mage had been so excited about the meat—I had thought she was simply an excitable person. None of them carried general health potions, but they offered a wide range of other remedies, including potions, salves, and tinctures for ailments such as colds, cuts, and infections. The prices were outrageous.

The cheapest item was a small clay pot of salve for muscle pain, which cost five silver, while the most expensive was a potion for treating infections—at least they knew what infections were—which cost three gold and five silver. They also sold dried plants, and I could feel the mana in them. I made a mental note to check plants for mana during my travels in the wilderness and to collect some. I didn't buy anything, but the visit was very informative. Last, I visited the jewelry shops.

The pieces had a heavy, almost primitive look, with thick bands and simple settings that lacked delicate detail. Gems were cut in basic shapes—mostly square or round—without the fine facet work I was used to. At most, they had three or four flat sides or were polished to a smooth finish. The prices weren't exorbitant, but neither were they cheap. I didn't buy jewelry, but did offer my emeralds. They were a big hit.

It took me three days to sell the contents of both chests from shop to shop, but I finally managed and earned over 2, 500 gold. The red light began blinking when I received the money in the second-to-last shop. Level Up +3 Wisdom, +3 Perception, +2 Luck, +3 Free Points Profession: Merchant Level 6 Free Points: 3 About time; I've done a lot of selling and buying since I came to Shimoor. The merchandise at the last jewelry shop I visited was extra expensive, and I had no more emeralds, so I left.

It was time to move on. The river continued far into the west as I needed. Travelers also seemed to explore quite a few of the capitals along this river. Around seventy percent of them had names listed on the Map. Before going to the docks to ask about a ship, I needed to check with Stretch. I found him at the inn in front of the fire, called him up to our room, and talked to him.

"Listen, buddy, with the snow, it will be much more difficult to travel through the wilderness or even on the roads. We can take a ship on the river and travel south like I need. The ships are bigger and more stable than the boats you don't like, but they still travel over water. What do you say? Will you give a ship a chance?" He thought for a moment, and I felt his agreement followed by his love for me. The message was clear: "Okay, but only because I love you."

I hugged him, petted, and scratched behind his ears.

"Thanks, buddy. I need to understand what's going on with my mana and this whole magic business. It's driving me nuts. It just doesn't make any sense." He tilted his head, sending me a confused feeling.

"The description of the Wizard Class said I'm supposed to be a scholar of magic, but I don't even have the faintest idea where to start or how to approach the subject." I rubbed my face with both hands and let out a frustrated sigh.

"And my mana is the worst part. It jumps up without any explanation. I'm not opposed to the rise in available mana, but I need to understand how it happens and how to control it." My fists tightened on my knees.

"I don't like something happening in my body I can't understand or control." He sent me a sense of a shrug.

"Yeah, I don't get it either, but I think there are answers in the west." Stretch rested his head on my lap, his ears brushing my arm.

"I'm going to the docks. Do you want to come with me?" He sent me a strong negative along with a wave of warmth.

"Okay, have fun in the common room with all the servers spoiling you." A wave of smugness washed over me, and I couldn't help but laugh as he flicked his tail. The Map showed the river curving west near the kingdom of Talis. That would be my destination. Talis also lay close to one of the Gates in the northeast, and I planned to check it and see where it led. Before leaving, I gave Stretch one last scratch under his chin. He leaned into it, eyes half-closed, before I stood and headed for the docks.